GM, Samsung SDI Announce New US Battery Cell Plant

General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Samsung SDI announced today they plan to invest more than $3 billion to build a new battery cell manufacturing plant in the United States. The plant will have more than 30 GWh of capacity and will bring GM’s total U.S. battery cell capacity to about 160 GWh when it is at full production in ~2026. The companies plan to jointly operate the facility, and it is projected to have production lines to build nickel-rich prismatic and cylindrical cells.

“It is a great pleasure to take the very first step to create a long-term industry-leading partnership with GM in the U.S. EV market,” remarked Samsung SDI President and CEO Yoon-ho Choi. “We will do our best to provide the products featuring the highest levels of safety and quality produced with our unrivaled technologies to help GM strengthen its leadership in the EV market.”

GM’s breakthrough Ultium Platform was strategically designed to accept multiple cell form factors and chemistries. In China, for example, the Cadillac LYRIQ is powered by prismatic cells applied to the same battery packs used in the US.

GM and Samsung SDI are not announcing the location of the plant or employment projections currently, however, the number of new jobs in construction and operations are expected to number in the thousands. As customer demand for EVs rises, GM will continue to scale its supply chain and operations, including cell production and vehicle assembly. Let the bidding war for taxpayer subsidies begin if it hasn’t already.

*Samsung SDI, headquartered in the Republic of Korea, is a battery and electronic material manufacturer. The company claims” to drive transformation and innovation to emerge as a ‘Creative Energy and Materials Solution Leader’ across the fields of e-mobility, energy solutions, as well as semiconductors and displays.” Samsung SDI has stated it will source 100% renewable electricity across its entire global operations by 2050. Samsung SDI